Photo: Guido ten Brink / SB-Medien
Has anyone been counting the 1,000-plus hp hypercars that have made their debut at this year's Geneva Motor Show? And to think that not so long ago, a certain Bugatti Veyron was coming to the stage with its cheeky 1,001 hp output and everybody was in awe.
Veyron's successor, the Chiron, was among the hypercars to make it over the less and less impressive 1,000 hp hurdle, but it wasn't the fastest of them. Nope, not even close. And the worrying trend for automotive industry's purist fans is that the quickest cars these days tend to be electric.
When compared to the Veyron, for example, even the range argument doesn't stand ground, as the speed at which the Great Bug used to sip from its fuel tank when driven flat out is something of a legend. It's not every day that you actually get to see the fuel gauge move right before your eyes.
Sadly, Rimac isn't saying anything about the range of its two hypercars that, in spite of their names (Concept_One and Concept_S) are very much production ready. Made by a virtually unheard of Croatian company that has plenty of background with electric things that go fast (it set some speed records before working with "Monster" Tajima for his Tajima Rimac e-Runer race car that took part in the Colorado Pikes Peak Hillclimb - and came second), these two electric hypercars are fast, just as they are beautiful.
The first model is the Concept_One, which uses a pair of electric motors fed by an 82kWh lithium-ion battery pack. Power is delivered to all four wheels via a proprietary torque vectoring system that supposedly does everything a traction control system, a stability control system, and ABS would normally do. Total power output reads 1,088 hp and an even more staggering 1,180 lb-ft (1,600 Nm) - especially since we all know how electric motors deliver their torque - which help the Rimac Concept_One reach 62 mph (100 km/h) in just 2.6 seconds and 186 mph (300 km/h) in 14.2 seconds. Sadly, top speed is "limited" to 220 mph (355 km/h).
And what if we told you that this isn't the best that Rimac has to offer, since the Concept_One has "an evil twin," as the Croatians like to pet-name the other hypercar present in Geneva. The large wing at the back and the more aggressive apron and side sills should be enough to tell you that the Concept_S is even more radical than its sibling. An extra 277 hp are thrown into the mix, with the maximum torque figure increasing to 1,328 lb-ft (1,800 Nm). The power increase is joined by a drop in weight (about 110 lb or 50 kg), which together manage to shave 0.1 seconds off the 0-62 mph sprint time and over a second off the 0-186 mph one.
The great thing about these two Rimac electric hypercars - apart from being able to punch through the space-time continuum - is that they also look superbly. There's a mix of British and Italian design that doesn't look like it's trying too hard to grab your attention, instead doing it naturally by simply looking like a beautiful, well-proportioned car. The interior appears to be exactly what the doctor prescribed, with carbon fiber and brushed aluminum complementing the sporty Alcantara lining.
The other things the Geneva Motor Show didn't lack in, besides very powerful hypercars, were the very expensive hypercars. The Rimac Concept_One makes no exception, costing in the vicinity of one million dollars. However, only eight of them will ever be built, so extreme exclusivity is included.
When compared to the Veyron, for example, even the range argument doesn't stand ground, as the speed at which the Great Bug used to sip from its fuel tank when driven flat out is something of a legend. It's not every day that you actually get to see the fuel gauge move right before your eyes.
Sadly, Rimac isn't saying anything about the range of its two hypercars that, in spite of their names (Concept_One and Concept_S) are very much production ready. Made by a virtually unheard of Croatian company that has plenty of background with electric things that go fast (it set some speed records before working with "Monster" Tajima for his Tajima Rimac e-Runer race car that took part in the Colorado Pikes Peak Hillclimb - and came second), these two electric hypercars are fast, just as they are beautiful.
The first model is the Concept_One, which uses a pair of electric motors fed by an 82kWh lithium-ion battery pack. Power is delivered to all four wheels via a proprietary torque vectoring system that supposedly does everything a traction control system, a stability control system, and ABS would normally do. Total power output reads 1,088 hp and an even more staggering 1,180 lb-ft (1,600 Nm) - especially since we all know how electric motors deliver their torque - which help the Rimac Concept_One reach 62 mph (100 km/h) in just 2.6 seconds and 186 mph (300 km/h) in 14.2 seconds. Sadly, top speed is "limited" to 220 mph (355 km/h).
And what if we told you that this isn't the best that Rimac has to offer, since the Concept_One has "an evil twin," as the Croatians like to pet-name the other hypercar present in Geneva. The large wing at the back and the more aggressive apron and side sills should be enough to tell you that the Concept_S is even more radical than its sibling. An extra 277 hp are thrown into the mix, with the maximum torque figure increasing to 1,328 lb-ft (1,800 Nm). The power increase is joined by a drop in weight (about 110 lb or 50 kg), which together manage to shave 0.1 seconds off the 0-62 mph sprint time and over a second off the 0-186 mph one.
The great thing about these two Rimac electric hypercars - apart from being able to punch through the space-time continuum - is that they also look superbly. There's a mix of British and Italian design that doesn't look like it's trying too hard to grab your attention, instead doing it naturally by simply looking like a beautiful, well-proportioned car. The interior appears to be exactly what the doctor prescribed, with carbon fiber and brushed aluminum complementing the sporty Alcantara lining.
The other things the Geneva Motor Show didn't lack in, besides very powerful hypercars, were the very expensive hypercars. The Rimac Concept_One makes no exception, costing in the vicinity of one million dollars. However, only eight of them will ever be built, so extreme exclusivity is included.
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